Everything from the session, plus the work itself. Your answers save on this device as you type, and you can email yourself a private link to pick up where you left off.
Nobody opens a business expecting to close it. But the numbers are rough, and it's better to look at them now, while you can still do something about it.
Being great at the work is rarely what decides it. What catches new owners is everything around the work: guessing who the customer is, pricing by gut, and spending the savings before the phone starts ringing.
Add up what you've spent, or plan to spend, before a single customer has said yes.
Tick only the ones you could answer with proof, like a conversation, a receipt or a real number. A hunch doesn't count.
Most new owners can answer fewer than a third of these. Tick the ones you truly know.
User research sounds like something big companies pay for. It isn't. These methods cost almost nothing, and each one takes an afternoon or less.
Short conversations with people who have the problem you solve. Ask about what they did the last time it happened, who they called and what it cost. Never ask if they'd buy your idea, because almost everyone says yes to be polite.
Try it: Talk to five people this week. Write down their exact words.
Researchers call it contextual inquiry. Go where your customer is and watch how they deal with the problem today: the parent juggling pickups, the homeowner on hold with a contractor, the shop owner digging through receipts. What people do often differs from what they say.
Try it: Ask one person if you can sit with them while they deal with the problem you solve.
Customers don't buy a service. They hire it to get a job done in their life. Nobody wants a drill, they want a shelf on the wall. When you name the job, you understand who you're really competing with.
Try it: Finish this sentence for your customer: When ___, I want to ___, so I can ___.
Look up five businesses like yours on Google and read their one-, two- and three-star reviews. Every complaint is something customers care about and a gap you could fill. It's the fastest market research there is.
Try it: List the three complaints that show up most often.
Before you buy the equipment or build the site, put the offer in front of people: a simple flyer, a post in a local group, a one-page site with a price. Count how many people reply, book or ask questions. Interest you can count beats interest people tell you about.
Try it: Post one offer this week and count the replies.
Keep track of every conversation here. Five is enough to start seeing patterns.
| # | Who I talked to | What they do about it now | What they pay today | Their exact words | Would they pay me? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 |
No conversations logged yet. Every day without one is a day you're guessing.
Designers use these to build products people actually want. They work just as well for a cleaning company or a hair studio, and each one has a 15-minute version.
A one-paragraph sketch of your typical customer, built from your interviews and not from imagination: who they are, what they're trying to get done and what frustrates them.
15-minute version: Write one paragraph about the person you talked to who wanted your help most.
Four boxes for what your customer says, thinks, does and feels. It shows the gaps between what people tell you and what they actually do.
15-minute version: Fill in the four boxes for one customer after an interview.
The steps a customer takes from first noticing the problem to after you've helped, with how they feel at each one. The low points are where you lose people.
15-minute version: List the steps from 'I need help' to 'that went well', and circle the worst one.
A journey map that also shows what you and your tools do behind the scenes at every step. It's how you find the place where things fall apart. There's a simple one further down this page.
15-minute version: Use the blueprint below, then map your own with the Customer Blueprint.
Your customer's jobs, pains and hoped-for gains on one side, and how your offer relieves the pains and creates the gains on the other. If they don't line up, the offer isn't ready.
15-minute version: List your customer's top three pains, then how your offer fixes each.
Show a rough version of your offer, flyer, booking page or price list to five people and watch where they get confused. Five tests catch most of the big problems.
15-minute version: Hand your flyer to five people and ask them to tell you what you do.
Fill in what you know. Leave blank what you don't, because the blanks are your to-do list for the next 90 days.
This is where most plans fall apart. Use real numbers, even rough ones.
A service blueprint shows every step from your customer's side, what they're wondering, where it goes wrong, and what has to happen behind the scenes. Here's a typical one. Mark the steps where you think yours would break.
| Step | 1. Notices the problem | 2. Searches | 3. Compares | 4. Reaches out | 5. Books | 6. Waits | 7. Gets the service | 8. Pays | 9. After | 10. Comes back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer does | Realizes they need help | Googles it, asks friends or a local group | Looks at reviews, photos and prices | Calls, texts or fills out a form | Picks a time | Waits for the day | Lets you in, watches the work | Pays and gets a receipt | Lives with the result | Needs you again, or someone like you |
| What they're wondering | Can I fix this myself? | Who's actually good around here? | Can I trust them? What will it cost? | Will anyone answer? | Do they have a time that works? | Are they still coming? | Do they know what they're doing? | Is this what we agreed? | Was it worth it? | Who was that again? |
| Where it goes wrong | They put it off for weeks | You don't show up in the search | No reviews, no prices, old photos | Voicemail, or a reply the next day | Five texts back and forth | No reminder, so they forget or no-show | Running late with no heads-up | A surprise on the bill | No follow-up, so small issues turn into complaints | They can't find your number, so they call someone else |
| What you do (they see it) | Nothing yet | Show up on Google with photos and hours | Clear prices, real reviews | Answer, or text back fast | Offer two or three times | Confirm and remind | Arrive on time, explain the work | A clear bill, easy ways to pay | Check in a few days later | Remind them it's time again |
| Behind the scenes | Content that answers their questions | Google profile, website, reviews | A price list you trust | A missed-call text, after-hours plan | A calendar you keep up to date | Automatic reminders | Notes on the customer and the job | Invoicing, bookkeeping | A follow-up list | A customer list with dates |
| Step | 1. Notices a need | 2. Discovers you | 3. Checks you out | 4. Decides | 5. Buys | 6. Waits | 7. Receives it | 8. Uses it | 9. Needs help | 10. Buys again |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer does | Realizes they want something | Sees a post, a stall or a search result | Looks at photos, reviews, the price | Compares with other options | Checks out online or in person | Waits for shipping or pickup | Opens it | Tries it out | Has a question or a problem | Runs out or wants another |
| What they're wondering | Is it worth spending on? | Is this legit? | Is it as good as it looks? | Is it cheaper somewhere else? | Is my card safe? What's the shipping? | Where is it? | Is this what I ordered? | How does this work? | Who do I even contact? | Where did I get that? |
| Where it goes wrong | They scroll past | Your page has no reviews or real photos | Unclear sizes, materials or price | Shipping costs show up at the end | Checkout is clunky on a phone | No tracking, no update | Damaged, or not as pictured | No instructions | No reply for days | No reminder, and they forgot your name |
| What you do (they see it) | Show up where they already look | Real photos, real reviews | Clear details and an honest price | Shipping shown up front | A simple checkout | A shipping update | Careful packaging, a thank-you note | A quick how-to | A fast, friendly reply | A reorder reminder |
| Behind the scenes | Content and posts | Listings, profile, product pages | Product photos and details | Pricing and shipping math | Payment setup, inventory count | Order tracking | Quality check, packing | Instructions and FAQs | An inbox you check daily | A customer list and email |
Tap "Mark it" on any step to flag it as bumpy or stuck for your business.
Your customer sits in the middle. Around them are the parts of a business that all have to work at once. Most new owners focus on one or two and get blindsided by the rest. Be honest about where each one stands.
Set a status for each part to see where you stand.
Plain-English versions of the terms people will throw at you.
Your answers already save on this device. To open them anywhere else, email yourself a private link.
A clean summary of your plan, money, interviews and where you stand, on a couple of pages.
Saved on this device
This workbook gets you started. If you'd rather not figure out the rest alone, here's how we can help.